LAST Thursday (October 9), InsiderPH published what should have been a minor energy news item, a summary of some comments made during a recent forum by an official of First Gen Corp. Nothing said by this executive was particularly provocative, and yet the brief story (about 370 words) managed to spin it into a controversy.

The official in question was First Gen Corp. executive Carlos Lorenzo Vega, a guest at the recent Renewable Energy Forum held by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines in partnership with Aboitiz Power. The theme of the forum was 'Powering A Sustainable Future,' and it was billed as a discussion of government and private sector initiatives to meet the Philippines' renewable energy (RE) targets of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050.